A real and common and fertile situation -- the battle between the Ex-Wife and the New Woman over the affections of two children of divorce -- but glossed and glamorized beyond all recognition. (In the case of the glowing cinematography of Donald McAlpine, not beyond all admiration.) Every day is a red-letter day, Halloween or the Thanksgiving school pageant or Christmas or horseback riding in the country or ice skating or soccer match. A new puppy is a delight to give as a present, but too much trouble to keep track of thereafter. The title figure (Julia Roberts) is a tops-in-her-field advertising photographer, the biological mom (Susan Sarandon, getting the better of the thespian competition) has no other life but her cancer, and the man in the middle (Ed Harris) is lucky to get a word in edgewise. By the time the movie buckles down to the business of soliciting, coaxing, urging, and jerking tears, you may be pleased to watch it suffer. Five acknowledged writers had a hand in the script, and director Chris Columbus had the ham fist. (1998) — Duncan Shepherd